Optus late with SMS kill switch roll-out

Optus has missed a deadline set by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to establish an avenue for customers to block premium SMS and MMS messages on its mobile service.

Optus has missed the ACMA's premium SMS barring deadline due to "technical problems". (Money hand image by David Neubert, CC2.0)

In a statement made by Optus today, it acknowledged that it is currently "non-compliant" with regulations set forth by the ACMA, and said that it was facing technical issues in the system's deployment.

"Optus regrets any inconvenience caused by the late delivery of the barring service, which has been caused by unavoidable delays in building the capability," the telco said.

The ACMA's Barring Determination means that telcos must have a facility in place whereby customers can easily block costly premium SMS and MMS services from mobile services.

The determination came into effect on 1 July 2010 — a deadline that Optus failed to meet.

Optus has advised ACMA that the service will be available by 11 October this year, four months behind schedule.

In the meantime, Optus has put "special arrangements in place to look after the interests of customers who want to bar access to premium SMS from their mobile phone", according to a statement on its website today.

Customers looking to bar premium messaging services from their phone can visit a purpose-built website or call Optus customer service.